Except that the cheating is a way to obtain the drugs. Otherwise, why would she bother with the guy? Addicts can justify any behavior to get the fix. Sex is one of the easier ways and doesn’t get you arrested unless it’s for prostitution. Her theft from the hospital is what could cost her her job (as in the case of my son). The back pain was the original reason for taking painkillers, but drugs become an end in themselves, the pain being either secondary or psychosomatic. My son was also doing large amounts of Zoloft to combat the depression from the drug use and lack of sleep from working 80-hour weeks. The show rings very true to me, and I would expect that her behavior will turn much worse before the series ends.
Agree. Notice how she went back to Eddie as soon as the security dude started monitoring the Pyxis?
Just chiming in, I’m a fan of USoT, as it has a GREAT soundtrack, and it’s the show that got me into loving The Eels as a band (namely by the song Souljacker pt.2).
Also, it’s a bit different from everything else out there right now, and I like how it does well to build up its story slowly over time developing the characters one by one.
I had NO idea how British the actual Actress that plays Tara is (from her interviews), she had me totally fooled and I completely thought she was more american than she sounds. So like Hugh Laurie, I have to give her props and I commend her ability to play each of the different roles distinctly.
I don’t like USoT, mainly because it just doesn’t ring true to me. Not that MPD can’t or doesn’t exist, I just don’t see a family being able to live through her episodes like it was just a part of their day. She could be harmful to them or herself.
This is what I take from the premise of the show.
Jackie is a drug addict. Just like so many in the health care profession. It happens various different ways but mostly it comes from the stress of the job, the sadness, the frustration and the business of health care. She can function just like many…if not most do. They know what takes the edge off and yet still allows them to function. I think if she actually gets in rehab, it will ruin the show for me. These nurses and doctors go years and years with a “bump” as needed. As a person in the field, I am well aware of how the xanax, oxy and lortab pills get passed around and consumed like M&Ms on a painful day.
The affair is also a numbing technique. Jackie choose a pharmacist but as everyone saw, she rushed to him when she needed to feel good about herself too.
The point is what the strong women needs to do to survive the shit she sees everyday.
She’s Australian, actually.
I’m actually quite impressed by Jackie being an addict and also high-functioning. Frankly, I’m kinda tired of the cliché that addiction is an inevitable path to destruction.
That said, I don’t much care for House because even though the main character is a functioning addict too, he’s also a jerk.